


Bride and her 3 Grooms

by WishaDream



Series: Things I wrote in Middle/High school [7]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Character Death, F/M, Ghosts, Hey, Love, Murder, Mystery, Romance, Unrequited Love, Wedding, alternate titles: death becomes her, i remember liking this ones concept, its like i'm saying these things about someone else's work, not sure who wrote them but lets post them here to have a good laugh, read these worksi randomly found on my computer, that might make it easier, title 2:the tiem three guys were obsessed with me but i was dead, title 3: happy endings only guaranteed post-mortem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:41:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24810988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WishaDream/pseuds/WishaDream
Summary: As the wedding bells sounded and she heard the church organ begin to play music before the wedding march her heart quickened inside her chest in a panic. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, the white of the dress seeming to accuse her with its pureness, she knew she couldn't go through with it. Before the wedding march had started Brianna ran out the back doors of the church out into the woods behind.A day later they found her body. She was dead.
Series: Things I wrote in Middle/High school [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1794586





	Bride and her 3 Grooms

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't even remember writing half of these but I remember enjoying writing them so I thought I'd share some of them in case someone got some joy out of reading them. I didn't really have the time to rewrite any of them, some I know I've gone over several times to make better, some I think are the first draft, but again, more for entertainment than anything. Hopefully you'll enjoy them (unsure grimace.)

Bride and her Three Grooms

Brianna Forest went by several names in her small town of Little Grove. To her girlfriends she was known as Bri the head cheerleader. To her parents she was Brianna the obedient daughter. To her boyfriend Alec Dunn she was Anna his girlfriend and fiancée. To Nolan West, the school's bad boy, her name was a forbidden whisper of Bria. And to her best friend Nathan Ranger she was an upperclassmen only he called Brian. But even with all those names and personas she didn't feel like any of them were her.   
For a time she'd tried to find herself away from Alec in the arms of another but in the end she returned to him. Now the day after their graduation she was garbed in a white dress waiting to walk down the aisle and seal their relationship forever. But was this really what she wanted? Did she forever want to be remembered as the head cheerleader who had married the star quarterback--to remembered forever as the way she was in high school. She felt she was becoming someone different--someone other than the person who had first agreed to Alec's proposal on their final day of school. In her heart she didn't even know if she loved him like she once had.   
As the wedding bells sounded and she heard the church organ begin to play music before the wedding march her heart quickened inside her chest in a panic. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, the white of the dress seeming to accuse her with its pureness, she knew she couldn't go through with it. Before the wedding march had started Brianna ran out the back doors of the church out into the woods behind.   
A day later they found her body. She was dead.

Though Brianna's family had a crypt for the family and had made a special etched angel slab for her burial site in the end they cremated her body and used the tomb to house the vase of ashes. Years passed and though her family visited the site for the first year after that they never visited the site again, the pain, they said, was too much.   
When Nathan Ranger visited his high school friend that warm summer evening five years later, he found the creases of the angel's wings covering Brianna's tomb to be lined with dust. The rest of the tombs in the crypt were white washed in their places along the wall but hers had been neglected. Brianna's tomb had been a last minute addition to the crypt, her death having been sudden occurrence. Her parents at first had wanted to put her into one of their slide in crypts but in the end they had torn out the ground of the crypt and had a hole dug there. They'd lined the hole with marble then had a stone crafted etch out an angelic image into the lid which they would cover her casket with. Though her body hadn't been buried there the angel was still there, its eyes closed in a solemn expression with its hands folded in front of it and its wings wrapped around it like a heavenly hug.   
Nathan placed the bouquet of flowers down over the hands of the angels as he knelt down beside the crypt. He closed his eyes as he felt his heart throb within his chest.   
"I wish I had told you how I felt--how it pained me to see you with Alec Dunn and how when you agreed to marry him I thought I was going to die of hear break. But then I thought it would be okay--that I could move on--but when you died I knew I couldn't. I would never be able to love anyone but you and how it wouldn't be fair to any other woman to try." His voice broke as he squeezed his hands on top of his knees into fists. "I will always love you Brian, even in death."  
After spending a few more moments reminiscing over his time with her he rose and started towards the crypt's exit. With his foot on the threshold of the tomb and his hand on the door frame he said to the empty room, "But I guess it's time I move on. Goodbye, Brianna."  
Before his foot had lifted from the threshold he felt a wind blow past him from the outside back towards the inner crypt. There was a rustling sound like a breeze through feathers. When he turned back the room was still empty and the breeze had disappeared. Again he raised his foot to go but stopped as he heard a knocking coming from one of the tombs.   
His heart froze in his chest as he turned and looked at each of the rows of drawers. The room was silent again and as he scanned the room he didn't find any signs of another person. "You're just imagining things, Nate."  
He tried to leave one last time but stopped as he heard someone call out to him. All the blood drained from his face as he again looked at the tombs. His voice shook as he asked, "Is someone there?" Hesitantly he moved back into the crypt, making his way in the direction he had heard the voice come. For a moment he stopped in front of Brianna's crypt but the voice had come from deeper in the mausoleum.  
"Nathan," called the voice eerily.  
The young man's hand shook as he reached out for the handle of the door to the inner tomb. Just as he was about to open it the door burst open and two whitened faces screamed at him. His screams joined theirs as he jumped back, ramming back against the smooth surface of the wall tombs.  
The white faces laughed, the taller of the two bending over as he was unable to stand upright with the shaking of his laughter. Nathan frowned as he recognized the two ghosts as being the living faces of his high school tormentor Alec Dunn and the school's stereotypical bad boy Nolan West. Since Brianna's death the two had become friends and seemed to share in the enjoyment of tormenting Nathan.  
"You guys are jerks," growled Nathan as he stomped away from them.  
Alec continued to laugh, doubled over, as Nolan laughed while he followed Nathan, "Awe come on man, don't be a sourpuss. Your face was priceless."  
Nathan spun around, glaring at the boys as he felt himself snap, "You know what makes this worse is that you are doing this at her grave." He pointed to Brianna's tomb which sobered both boys. "What number of time is this that you've been found here drunk off your asses? Do you really think this is what she would have wanted?"  
Alec snorted as he walked up beside Nolan. "And what would you know of what Anna wanted?"  
"I was her best friend."  
Both boys laughed. Nolan put his hand on Nathan's shoulder in a sympathetic gesture as he told him, "Bria was too nice for her own good--but she didn't think of you as a friend. If anything you were her pet project--she took pity on you. You were like a puppy that followed her everywhere. Just cause she let you do it doesn't mean she liked you."  
Alec nodded as he pulled a flask out of his back pocket and took a swig, "She was always telling me how annoying it was to have to clean up the messes you made around her house."  
Nolan looked at his friend as he told him, "Nah man, I think she was talking about her real dog in that instance."  
Alec laughed drunkenly, "Oh yeah, I think you're right."  
Nathan frowned as he watched the two men laugh. "Even so," he snapped, cutting off their laughter, "This isn't the place to get drunk and play pranks. If you want to do that go to the bar--or back to high school, a place you've never really left."  
Alec looked annoyed as he stepped towards Nathan and forcefully pushed him in the chest, "What are you trying to say, boy? You think you're better than us because you run your daddy's little tree business?" He snorted, "How does that make you better than us when its the same job you had when we were in school? If that's so great then me and Nolan are just as well off as you."  
Nolan nodded as he folded his arms and stared threateningly at the younger man. Nathan could tell there was no reasoning and started to leave. He was stopped as Alec grabbed his arm and swung him around, tossing him back behind him. Nathan stumbled and fell back onto the ground as the two men laughed while they exited the crypt.  
Nathan felt anger rise in his chest as he sat up. Though he felt like punching both of them, he knew even in their inebriated state he wouldn't be able to get more than one or two punches in before they clobbered him.   
Beneath him the ground shook slightly as something hit against the stone under him. He jumped up when he realized he'd landed on Brianna's angel lid. "Sorry."  
He started to leave after the boys when he remembered what he'd felt, how the stone had shook slightly as if someone had been banging against it. Though he knew it was probably just his imagination he also knew Alec had enjoyed shoving people into small spaces like lockers or empty tombs. Dropping to his knees beside the lid he bent forward, resting his ear over the heart of the angel. As he listened he heard only the sound of his own beating heart. He sighed as he sat up. "Just my mind playing games with me."  
Again he rose to leave then he heard it, bang, bang. The sound was definitely coming from Brianna's empty grave. Slowly he slid his feet back towards the grave site. "Hello? Is someone in there?" He bent down and pressed his ear against the lid. This time he heard it more clearly, bang, bang, followed by the sound of someone's panicked voice begging, "Please let me out."  
Nathan's heart leapt into his throat as he dug his fingers into the small crack of the lid. When he couldn't get a hold he raced out of the tomb, running into Alec and Nolan as he hurried to his car.  
"Hey, what's wrong with you?!" called Alec who had fallen to the ground.  
Nolan sneered as he helped his friend up, "Seen a ghost or something?"  
The two men laughed as Nathan ran past them holding the crowbar from his trunk. Back in the crypt he slid the end of the bar into the space and began to pry. As he struggled to get the heavy stone object off he wondered how Alec and Nolan had even gotten it off in the first place. Sure they were both a lot stronger than him but he didn't imagine either of them would be willing to go to such great lengths to perform a prank like this. And how what poor soul had they done it to?  
Finally the lid lifted high enough for Nathan to get his hands under it. Carefully he slid the lid back and away from the empty tomb. But when he looked inside he saw it wasn't empty. He'd expected to see some pock marked high schooler--a favorite victim of Alec and Nolan, instead he found himself staring down at a young girl dressed in a pure white slip of a dress. His mind didn't have time to take in the dress as his eyes immediately froze on the face of the girl. Her eyes were closed from the light but as they opened he recognized the familiar forest green with gold flecks of the irises. The girl's mouth opened and he noticed her lips were as pale as he remembered them and when she spoke his heart beat as quickly as it had the first time he'd heard her speak.  
"Nathan," her voice sounded scared as she looked around without sitting up, "What's going on? Where am I?"  
He couldn't believe it was her and reached down, touching her cheek with his fingers. She felt as solid as him, but this can't be. She's dead.  
The girl sat up, her head turning as she took in her surroundings, "Why am I in my family's crypt?" She looked at him, finally taking complete stock of him as asked, "And what's up with you? Why do you look older since the last time I saw you?" Her hand reached towards his cheek, stopping just before touching his face, "Where'd all your baby fat go?"  
Nathan started to respond but was interrupted by the sound of someone calling out his name behind him. He turned as Alec and Nolan stumbled towards him. They didn't notice the girl at first or the open crypt as they only focused on Nathan.  
"What're you up to?" asked Alec, his words slurred with bourbon. "You trying to cause trouble in here to blame on us."  
"Cause if that's the case," added Nolan as he rolled up the sleeves of his leather jacket, "We'll really cause some trouble here."  
Nathan rose, raising his hands in surrender as he told them, "I don't want any trouble. I just thought I heard something in one of the crypts and came to free whoever you'd locked inside."  
"We didn't lock anyone inside a grave," snapped Alec.  
"Yeah, that's just wrong."  
Nathan frowned as he quipped, "And getting drunk in one isn't?"  
Alec started towards Nathan with a threatening look but was stopped as the girl called out his name, "Alec Houston Dunn, leave Nathan alone."  
The ex-quarterback stumbled back from Nathan as his eyes turned and tried to focus on the girl. For a few moments he stared at her then his vision cleared enough to see her. He let out a yelp as he jumped back, grabbing onto Nolan as he pointed at her, "A ghost!"  
Nolan looked just as shocked, not being as drunk as his friend he assured him, "This is just some sick joke of Ranger. He's trying to get us back for picking on us by having some Brianna look alike scare us."  
The two men glared at Nathan as Alec told him, "Not cool, man."  
Behind them the girl rose to her feet and dusted her clean dress before extending her hand to Nathan. Dumbly he took it and helped her as she lifted herself out of the tomb to stand before them.  
"I don't know what's going on here," she said as she looked between the three stunned male faces, "But whatever is happening I don't like it."  
She frowned at each of them starting with Nathan and ending with Alec. When her eyes came to rest on him her eyes suddenly widened as her hands went to her mouth in a gasp. "Alec, you look horrible." She set her fiery eyes on Nolan as she said, "How could you let him get so drunk the night before our wedding?" Then she paused as she realized something, "Wait, since when are you two friends?" Then another thought occurred to her as she noted Alec's beer gut and Nolan's full beard. She pointed to both anomalies as she said, "Wait, you didn't have either those last time I saw you." Again she inspected Nathan as she took his face in her hands and began to play with his cheeks, "And since when are you so skinny?"  
Nathan caught her around the waist as she started to stumbled back into the tomb. Her hand rested on her temple as memories of her wedding day flashed into her mind. Her hand shook as she looked at each of the men still confused but suddenly realizing something, "Last thing I remember was being at my wedding." She looked down at herself, noticing she was still wearing white but not the wedding dress which had been a white version of her prom ball gown. Nathan let her go as she turned and stared down at the crypt she had crawled out of. "Was I in a grave? I remember leaving the church but..." she looked around her family's crypt, "But how did I get all the way out here."  
"What's going on here?" asked Nolan as he grabbed Nathan by the collar. "What kind of sick joke is this? Tell this actress to cut it out."  
"She's not an actress," replied Nathan. "I think it's really her."  
Alec, who was still too drunk to really know what was going on, walked up to Brianna who was staring down into her grave. She turned when he tapped her shoulder. He knelt down, extending his empty hands as he asked, "Anna, since you're back, will you marry me?"  
Though Nolan wasn't as drunk as Alec, he was still drunk enough to get mad, as he pushed his friend aside and took the spot in front of the girl, "No, Bria, you should marry me. I'm the one you care about, not this meat head."  
"Who you calling meat head?" snapped Alec as he lunged at his friend. The two wrestled around on the crypt's floor as Brianna hurried around them to stand behind Nathan.   
While the two men fought Brianna looked at her friend with confused eyes as he implored him to tell her what was going on. "Why does everything look so different than how I remember it?"  
Nathan took her hand which was cold, a temperature it had even been in life, and led her over to a bench which he made her sit on before explaining further. "No one really knows what happened, but after the wedding march began and you didn't show up everyone had thought you had stood up Alec and run off with Nolan. But the next day the priest found your body in the woods behind the church." He paused till Brianna insisted he continue, "You were dead." His voice broke and he struggled to continue as his throat felt like it was being squeezed, "You had been murdered--no one knows who did it." He pointed to the place she had crawled out of, "You were supposed to be buried there but in the end your parents had you cremated." She stared at the crypt then looked back at him as he stared at her. "I don't know what you are doing here now but you died."  
Brianna was quiet for a moment as she lowered her eyes. When she raised them again her voice was even as she asked, "Did they ever find who did it?"  
He shook his head. "They blamed it on a drifter, someone they could never find, but it always seemed off to me. It was the weirdest thing. I don't know how the coroner had time to investigate your body because it seemed the very next day your parents had your body cremated. And the stone for your grave seemed to be done quicker than I would have thought--almost as if they'd had it ready for you before they even found your body."  
Brianna wrung her hands in front of her, something he knew she'd done when she was upset. He took her hands in his as he told her to ignore what he'd just said, "I've just over analyzed the things about your death. I'm sure your parents knew nothing about your death until they found your body. You know I've got I'm just a conspiracy theorist."  
The two men had stopped their fight and crawled over to where Brianna sat as they asked her, "Bria, who are you going to choose?"  
"Yeah, Anna, who do you want to marry?"  
Brianna looked at each of them then at Nathan as she said with a stony expression, "Before I can marry anyone, I have to find out who killed me."  
Alec rose, eager to please as he said, "Right, I'll help you with that."  
Nolan shoved him as he jumped up, "No I will."  
"Brianna," started Nathan as she turned her attention to him, "the police did everything they could. They never found anything."  
Brianna looked at him with determination as she squeezed his hands, "I trust your judgment Nathan, if you think there was something hinky about the events surrounding my burial then there was." She turned to the two men as she told them, "I'm going to need all of your help to do this."  
The men saluted as they said, "Yes!" The hurried out of the crypt. Nolan came back a second later as he asked, "How are we going to find your killer?"  
Brianna stood, letting go of Nathan's hand as she walked over to her crypt and stared at the angelic cover, "We're going to ask my parents."

Alec owned seven seat white van and though Nathan had driven his own car there, he was made to ride in the van as they made their way back from the graveyard to the town. As the crypt was located forty minutes outside of town, the small group had time to catch up Brianna of the events of the last five years.  
"I'm the assistant manager at the theatre," Alec informed her as Nathan drove his van.  
"Didn't you work there when we were in high school?" asked Brianna from her seat behind the driver. While Nathan drove Alec and Nolan had secured seats on either side of the young girl, filling up the bench seat which was only supposed to seat two.   
Alec grinned proudly as he said, "Yeah, but it was the best job. And get this, I get all the left over popcorn at the end of the day. Is that cool or what?"  
Beside her Nolan started to brag as he said, "Well my job is even better."  
"Did you get that job at the car garage you wanted?"  
He shook his head, "Even better. I work morning's at the gas station. That means I can party all night and I get free oil changes for my bike."  
"I thought that was supposed to just be a summer job before you went to college for mechanic school."  
Nolan shrugged casually, "Yeah, well I decided that wasn't my thing. My job at the station is much cooler."  
Alec nodded, adding to the greatness of the position as he said, "Nolan even lets me come in and get Icees at night. Remember that time in high school when Mike Eagan dared me to drink an Icee mixed with snow and I got that huge brain freeze."  
The two boys laughed as they started to reminisce about the past.  
Brianna turned her attention from them as she focused on Nathan in the front seat. "What about you Nathan? Have you done anything since high school?"  
Nathan started to respond but was cut off as Nolan pointed ahead to the road outside, "See that, they still haven't replaced the chicken at the Chick N' Flip. They just painted over the penis I painted on it. You can still kind of see it in certain light and I once even tried to scratch away the paint on top of it."  
Alec gave him a low five as the two men laughed.  
Brianna and Nathan remained silent as the two continued to reminisce as they passed old landmarks. Finally, on the other side of the town the van stopped at the gates of Brianna's family home. Though it had been five years the large mansion didn't look any different from the last time she'd seen it. Her father had just been an electrician by trade but had done well off, a fact that hadn't bothered Brianna when she'd been alive but now as she stared at the enormity of her home something inside told her it was off.   
Alec and Nolan had sobered up some since the ride but both were still of no help when it came to sneaking onto the mansion's grounds. As Brianna and Nolan rounded the outside fence looking for an opening, Alec pulled Nathan to the side.  
"Don't talk to her about the present," ordered the ex-jock.  
"Why not?" snapped Nathan as he tried to pull out of the grip Alec had on his arm.  
The man bared his teeth as he told him, "Because you'll just make her depressed hearing about all the things she missed out on."  
"And you don't think hearing how neither of you has moved on since high school won't make her depressed?"  
Alec growled as he shoved Nathan back against the fence, "Fine, do whatever you like, homo. Just don't come crawling to me when she starts bawling because she sees life has moved on without her."  
Nathan frowned as the man walked off in the direction Nolan and Brianna had gone. As he followed, rubbing the part on his back which had hit the fence, he frowned. Maybe Alec had a point. Brianna would be upset to know how far along her friends all were in their lives after high school. If she had lived she'd be just as far as them with two kids and a home with a pool. Right now she was just a high school graduate who had been dead for five years. Even if she wanted to continue her life it was going to be hard without a living identity. Then there was the more important question to answer. How was she back and how long would it last? If they found her murderer would she return to heaven? And if she was a ghost how was she so solid?  
His hand remembered the feeling of the skin of her cheek when he'd first touched her and then the coldness of her hand in his as he'd held it. Even in life her hands had always been cold and if she was dead shouldn't they be colder?   
Up head his thoughts were interrupted by the sight of Nolan and Alec pouring white dirt on Brianna. He called out for them to stop as he ran over, "What do you think you are doing?!"  
The two boys looked at him as if he was an idiot as they replied, "We're making her a ghost."  
Nathan looked at Brianna questioningly till the boys finished and she was able to explain, "Nolan's going to use what he remembers on wiring to make the lights in my parents house flicker and while they are off I'm going to sneak in there and make them think I'm a ghost. If they are hiding anything they'll admit it from guilt."  
"But how are you going to get inside?"  
Brianna reached into the hedges which lined the outside of the gate and moved aside a group of hanging vines from a hidden gate. On the other side of the gate Nolan found the electric box. While he readied the wires for flickering Nathan and Alec watched the windows for the moment when Brianna could sneak in. It was already dark by the time they had reached the home and her parents looked like they were getting ready to head for bed.  
"They're in the living room," Nathan informed Brianna over the walkie talkie Alec had provided each of them.  
Over on the side of the house Nolan was still stripping the wires with a knife as he then crossed them.  
"You're really good at that," Nathan whispered. "Maybe you should try to go to that mechanic school again."  
Noland snorted as he ignored him and continued readying the wires.   
On her signal the lights inside the house went off. When they came back Nathan found himself just as startled as the parents at the sudden appearance of their dead daughter. 

Inside the home Brianna's mother let out a blood curdling scream at the sight of the apparition of her daughter. Her father looked just as pale as he held his wife upright.  
"Brianna, is that?" asked the older man with a choked voice.  
"Father," replied Brianna coldly, "How could you?"  
"Wha-what are you doing here?" asked her mother through tears. She tried to move towards the girl but she stopped her with a raised hand. "Don't. I know what you did."  
Her parents seemed to grow a shade whiter--something she didn't think could be possible with how white they already were. "What do you mean?"  
"Why did you have my body cremated? Was there something you were trying to hide? Do you know who killed me?"  
Her mother began to sob as she dropped to her knees, "Oh Howard, how could we let this happen to our daughter? Our daughter!"  
The girl's father shushed his wife as he told her to be quiet, "We're not to blame, Sharon. How could we know this would happen?"  
"Father!" yelled Brianna, startling the old man, "Who killed me?!"  
The man began to cry, something she'd never seen him do before she'd died, "I'm sorry, baby. He told it was for the best."  
Brianna really sounded like a ghost from the other side as she ordered, "WHO?!"  
"Darius Laufeia," yelped her mother. "He told us if we didn't cover up your death he'd kill us as well." The woman tried to reach for her daughter again as she wept, "I'm so sorry."  
The lights in the house went off and when they came back on Brianna was gone. As Brianna came out to meet the boys at the side of the house Nathan watched her parents hold each other as they wept.   
"Who is Darius Laufeia?" asked Brianna as she haughtily walked back to the mansion's fence.   
"I've never heard of him," replied Nolan. Alec nodded as he said he'd never heard of the man either.  
"We can check the public records," Nathan suggested, "They have everyone whose ever lived here listed. And if he doesn't live here we can search for him on the web."  
"Such a nerd," scolded Alec as he shoved the young man.  
Back in the van the group was quiet as Nathan drove them back to town.  
"We'll have to wait till morning to find him," Brianna noted just as they entered the city limits. "I'll need a place to sleep till then."  
"You can stay with me," offered Nolan.  
"No she can't," snapped Alec, "You owe your landlord money and have been avoiding him till you can pay him off."  
Nolan groaned. "That's right."  
"You can stay with me," volunteered Alec.  
Nolan shook his head as he reminded him, "The motel you stay at is getting fumigated, your home right now is this van."  
"Oh right."  
Nathan started to volunteer his home from the front seat but was cut off as Alec said, "My buddy at the theatre said I could use the parking space behind to park my van till morning. We can just all sleep here and then head to the library once the sun's up."  
Brianna sighed heavily as she looked out the window. The two men didn't notice her look as they ordered Nathan to drive to the theatre.   
At the theatre the two men fought over what sleeping spot Brianna should occupy, "You can sleep up in the driver's seat with me," volunteered Alec as he took back his seat at the wheel.  
"Or the bench with me," said Nolan as he rubbed the spot beside him.   
"There's more room here in the back," said Nathan form his spot in the back bench. "I can sit up and you can--."  
"No one wants to share a bench with you!" snapped both men.  
"I'll move up to the front with Alec," said Nolan as he crawled into the passenger seat. "You can have the first bench."  
After their sleeping spots were decided the two in the front soon fell asleep, their snoring drowning out all other sounds. Nathan sighed as he lay in the back seat staring up at the ceiling with his right arm under his head. The seat in front of his creaked and he watched a white figure crawl over to the back where it came to rest on his chest.  
"What are you doing?" whispered Nathan, slightly panicked as Brianna rested her head on his chest.  
"You're right," she replied, "It is bigger back here."  
Nathan heard her breath softly as she closed her eyes. A moment later he felt a coldness on his chest and realized she was crying. Over the years she was the only person he'd ever met who could cry without making a sound. He wrapped his arms around her as her shoulders didn't even move with the tears. It wasn't till the sun started to peak over the top of the town's buildings that Brianna finally moved as she crawled back over to the front bench.   
When Alec and Nolan woke a minute later she played at just having woken from the spot she'd just occupied. They didn't even notice the parts of the dust on her face from the ghost disguise which had been rubbed away on Nathan's shirt or the trails on her cheeks from the tears. Instead they focused on Nathan's shirt which was still wet with her tears and had sections of white smudges from the dust.  
"What did you do to your shirt?" asked Nolan as he noted the wetness.  
Nathan tried to think up an excuse as Brianna looked back at her. Her eyes weren't even red as she stared at him as if wondering herself.  
Finally he shrugged, as no excuse would come to him as he said, "I don't know."  
"What a loser," scoffed Alec as he started up his car, "Doesn't even know he drooled all over himself. He even has some dried drool there," noted Alec as he pointed at the white sections of dust, "How do you even do that to the front of your shirt?"  
Nolan laughed with Alec as the van drove out of the theatre's parking lot. 

When they arrived at the library/town history building Nathan told Brianna to wait in the car.  
"If anyone recognizes you it's going to be hard to explain. Especially when your parents think you are a ghost."  
Inside the library Nolan and Alec weren't much help as Nolan hit on the young librarian and Alec drew phallic symbols in all the books he could get his hands on. After searching the town records Nathan came up empty for the name Darius Laufeia. When he did a web search he didn't find results for the name as a whole. Though when he looked up the last name alone he found it to be the name of a Norse god of destruction and evil. Well that's not anything.   
"Who is this guy?" mused Nathan as his session on the library computer timed out. With nothing to show for his work he headed back to the van where the other two men were already waiting with Brianna. They had purchased some fast food from the nearby Chick N' Flip.  
"Sorry dude," said Nolan, not sounding sorry in the slightest, "We didn't get you anything."  
"Where do we go now?" asked Alec as he munched on a fistful of fries.  
Nathan got into the van, sliding in beside Brianna as the ex-quarterback started up the car. "I don't know. I couldn't find anything on this Darius guy."  
"Some genius you are," snapped Nolan.  
"Leave him alone," ordered Brianna, "At least he tried." She eyed each of the men in the front seats till they turned away in shame. To Nathan she held out her burger which she had already taken a bite of, "Here, we can share."  
He started to say no but stopped when his stomach growled. Bashfully he thanked her as he took it and bit into the spot beside her bite. She handed him her soda next which he took as he handed her back the burger. His cheeks heated as he watched her take a bite without any hesitation from the exact spot he had just eaten.   
"I don't think my guys just made up a name, they seemed to genuinely scared to lie." Brianna wiped at a bit of ketchup that had been left on her lips and then licked it off her fingers. "There's got to be someone who knows who this Darius Laufeia is."  
"I've got a buddy at the police station," offered Nolan.  
"You mean the guy that's always arresting you, I wouldn't exactly call him a buddy," replied Alec.  
"Shut it. Anyway, he might have heard of this Darius guy. I'll go ask him."  
Alec stopped the van at the local grocery store parking lot where Nolan's motorcycle was waiting.  
"Is that the same bike he road in high school?" asked Brianna.  
Alec turned in the front seat to face her as he replied with a grin, "Yep. Isn't it cool?"  
Brianna didn't reply as she took another bite of burger then exchanged it with Nathan for the soda. Alec frowned and turned back to face the front.   
Outside Nolan started up his bike and rode off.  
"While he's doing," said Alec as he pulled the van forward, "I'll drop you off at Nathan's. No one is every there so it should be a good hiding place.  
"You have a place?" asked Brianna as she stared at Nathan. "Why didn't we stay there last night?"  
Nathan started to respond but Alec cut him as he said, "Because I didn't think you would want to sleep in a gay's pad."  
Nathan frowned as Brianna stared at him then looked back at Alec. "And what are you going to do while I'm hiding at Nate's?"  
"I know a few guys," replied Alec mysteriously, "I'll ask them some questions."  
She looked at Nathan. "And you?"  
Again Alec interrupted Nathan before he could reply, "He'll watch you. Make sure you don't go disappearing on us like ghosts tend to do."  
Brianna didn't object to it and was quiet as Alec drove off, leaving Nathan and her behind in front of her house. Once the van was gone she turned to look at the outside of his home. He motioned for her to hurry inside as he unlocked the door and opened it.  
"This is really nice," said Brianna as she looked around the home. "What do you do now?"  
"I still work at my father's tree nursery."  
Her awe turned to disappointment as she simply said, "Oh."  
"Not like Nolan and Alec," he hurriedly added, "I run it now."  
Now she sounded apologetic as she touched his arm, "Oh Nate, I'm so sorry. I know how close you and your father were."  
Nathan shook his head, seeing her misinterpreting his words again, "My dad's not dead. He just decided the business was getting too much for him and retired. I co-manage the business with Steven Jacobs."  
Brianna smiled as she congratulated. "That's so great." She paused for a moment as she noted the cleanly and well arranged interior of the home. "Will your wife mind--."  
"I'm not married."  
"Your girlfriend has great taste."  
He sighed. "Single."  
"Oh."  
Before Alec's insinuations about him got to her he added, "Alec and Nolan tease me about being gay because I haven't had a girlfriend in the time since high school. While they were able to move on somewhat with different girls I just couldn't find any girl worth having." Brianna watched him till he looked away, feeling nervous as he led her into his living room. "My dad even thinks because of my lack of relationship that I'm gay. That's one of the main reasons he employed Steven Jacobs, hoping to hook me up with another gay--of which I am not."  
Brianna laughed lightly as she sympathetically apologized, "That must be hard."  
"Sometimes."  
As she started to sit down, rubbing at her cheek as if it itched, he remembered she was still covered in the white dirt from the previous night.  
"Would you like to take a shower?"  
She smiled as she nodded. After he had showed her to his bathroom she handed him her dress through the door. Though she had been covered in dust the silken garment seemed unchanged from when she had first come out of the crypt. A simple shake cast all dust off the fabric so it was left shining like new. When Brianna was done cleaning up he handed her back the dress which she changed back into before heading back to the living room.   
"So what else have you been up to?" She took a seat on his couch, continuing their conversation as she motioned for him to sit beside her.  
He did and started to tell her, stopping as he remembered Alec's warning. Don't tell her. "Uh, not much."  
Brianna frowned. "Why are you doing that?"  
"What?"  
"Being so secretive. You're the only person of the three guys I knew in high school who doesn't seem to be trapped in the past. You know the whole reason I ran out that day was because I didn't want to be trapped in my high school life."  
"Really? So you don't care about Alec anymore?"  
"No. I mean, yes. I mean..." she exhaled as she rested her head in her hands. "I don't know. Seeing him now, I kind of feel like I dodged a bullet. But then I think what if he's that way because I walked out on him and then got killed."  
"Alec's always been a jerk," Nathan told her, "and I don't think any of what you did would have changed where he is now." He eyed her closely as he asked, "What about Nolan?"  
She sighed. "He's in about the same spot as Alec. Worse is that he seems to have potential with his mechanic skills--but he's wasting it at the gas station." She groaned as she let her head fall back against the couch. "Why are all the guys in my life still boys?"  
Not all. "Brian."  
She turned to look at him, smiling at him as she did. He felt his heart skip a beat. "I missed hearing that."  
"What?"  
"Brian. I told you that you could call me it any time but you only ever called me it when we were alone."  
He felt his face heat as he looked away, "I was a little embarrassed."  
"Was it because your dad thought you liked another boy?"  
He groaned as he rested his face in his hands. "I can't believe he read my journal."  
"I can't believe you talked about me in it--and that you kept a journal."  
They laughed then Nathan grew serious as he asked, "Was I just an annoying puppy that you couldn't get to stop following?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"You were a senior, I was a junior that was a full year younger than all the other kids in my class. You were dating the star quarterback and were the head cheerleader and one of the smartest people in your class. I was a chubby nerd that was shorter than most of the girls in my class."  
"That's right, you were." She frowned as she studied his figure. "I can't believe I forgot you used to be short too. This being dead thing has really scrambled my brain."  
"Brian, did I annoy you by always following you around?"  
She shook her head as she touched his arm. "Never. You were the only person who I ever felt like..." she paused as she tried to come up with the words. "Me. Around everyone else I felt like who I was being was a stranger--that it wasn't me. But with you I felt closer to realizing who I wanted to be than with anyone else." She sighed as her past memories played through her mind, "That was one of the reasons I broke up with Alec two months before graduation. I thought I would find myself with someone else."  
"That's when you dated Nolan."  
She nodded. "With him I became Bria, but even she wasn't me. After I went back to Alec I thought the person I was with him, Anna, must have been me. And when he proposed I was happy for a moment. But when I saw myself in the wedding dress on the day of our marriage I knew I couldn't go through with it."  
"So you ran out?" She nodded. "Do you remember anything else? Like what happened after?"  
Her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to remember back. "The last thing I remember is running into the woods behind the church."  
"Why would you go that way?"  
She shrugged as she opened her eyes. "I don't know. That's as much as I can remember of that day." Her hands reached across the couch where she slid her fingers between his. "Your hands are still warm."  
He smiled. "And yours cold."  
She nodded, her smile sad as she stared at their entwined hands. "Who am I, Nathan? Am I the head cheerleader, or the straight A student who does everything her parents want her too? Am I Alec Dunn, the star quarterback's girlfriend, or Bria, Nolan West's girlfriend?" Her head rose so that she was looking at him and he realized she was crying. Though her voice hadn't broken her cheeks were stained with tears as the cold crystals slid down.  
Keeping his fingers entwined in hers, he raised his hands and used his thumbs to wipe away her tears. "If you don't want to be Bri the head cheerleader you don't have to be. You are your own person, you don't have be known as Alec Dunn's girlfriend or Nolan West's girl."  
"But if I'm not those things, who am I?" She lowered her head as he voice grew quiet, "Or does any of it matter for a ghost?"  
He freed his hands as he took her face in them and lifted it up to look at him. "You're not a ghost. If you were a ghost would I be able to touch you?"  
"Some ghosts are solid."  
He placed his hand on her chest. "Just as I thought, a heart beat, ghosts don't have heart beats." He smiled at her then pulled his hand away as he realized where it was.  
She placed her own hand over the spot his hand had been as she felt her heart beat within her chest. "If I'm not a ghost, then what am I?" She groaned as she rested her hand between her fists. "Even in death I don't know who I am."  
"You're Brianna Forest--and if you don't want to be any of those other things--if you are okay with it till you find something better--you are my best friend."  
She raised her head as she started to smile. "Thank you, Ranger. Even after all these years you are taking care of me."  
He smiled back. "Of course. Ranger's are protectors of forests and you are my Forest."   
Brianna started to move towards him as if to tell him something in private but stopped at the sound of the front door's bell. Nathan rose and headed to the door, opening it when he saw Alec and Nolan on the other side. Both boys pushed past him as they headed to the living room where Brianna was still sitting on the couch. The two men sat on either side of her as Nolan started to tell what he'd found.   
"My friend didn't know anything about this Darius guy," reported Nolan, Alec started to interrupt with his story but Nolan cut him off as he continued, "But he said he's heard of his boss talk about a guy named D.B. Lafei."  
"That's not even the same guy," cried Alec as he shoved his friend away and turned Brianna to face him. "Listen, I've got the goods. My sources say that there's this guy in town who has his thumb in all of Little Grove's business'."  
"Who's your source?" asked Nolan skeptically, "Is it that homeless guy who sleeps behind the theatre? Because you know he's a crazy crackpot."  
"He's not!" snapped Alec, "At least he's actually heard of a guy named Darius."  
"What's his last name?"  
Alec mumbled the name till Nolan made him repeat it, "Okay, he called him Devon Lestrange--but I'm sure he meant Darius Laufoo, or whatever it was."  
Nolan snorted, "See, isn't even the same guy--if there even is a guy that has a hold in all the business' here."  
"He does!"  
Brianna rose from the couch as the two men started to argue like children. Nathan was standing in the doorway of the living room, she stopped beside him as the men started to wrestle.  
"What do you think? Do you think maybe these two guys are the same guy or someone different?"  
Nathan sighed as he brushed his hair away from his forehead. "I don't know. Could be the same guy. I guess I could try looking up these new names."  
Brianna followed him to his back room into his office/bedroom. She stood behind him as he sat at his computer and searched for the two names. For the first name of D.B. Lafayette the search engine asked if he meant D.V. Lafei. When he said yes he was given information on a New York real estate mogul. The man didn't seem to have any connections to Little Grove, "But that doesn't mean he's not the guy." With the search of Devon Lestrange he again came up with nothing."   
Brianna leaned forward as Nathan typed out each of the names they had. His heart quickened as he felt her chest brush against his ear as she stared at the computer screen.   
He was so distracted by the proximity of her chest to his face he didn't hear her talking till she'd pointed at the computer screen, "Yeah, see." She moved around so that her chest was against the back of his head as she reached down to type something out. "If you take D.V. Lafei, the only name we can get as a search result, and compare its lettering with the other names we have--the only letters they have in common are D--V--L--E--and I."  
"DVLEI," read Nathan as she typed out the letters."  
Brianna rearranged the letters as she typed then out, "LIVED, VILED, VEILD--without the second E." Her fingers paused on the keys as he heard her heart quicken against his head. Without saying it she typed out the letters. "D--E--V--I--L."  
"Devil," read Nathan. She stepped back as he turned to stare at her. "I think we're reading into this too much."  
Brianna laughed nervously as she nodded. "Yeah, totally." She wrapped her arms around herself. Nathan stood up and started towards her, his arms moving towards her when Alec and Nolan burst into the room.  
"Hey, what are you guys doing in here?" asked Nolan as he eyed Nathan accusingly.  
Alec looked towards the bed then back at Brianna who was still holding herself, "You trying to make the moves on my girl, fag!"  
Brianna stepped in front of Nathan as Alec started towards the younger man, "Leave him alone," snapped the girl. "While you two were off horsing around we were in here researching our guy."  
"And what did you find?" asked Alec skeptically as he death glared at Nathan.  
"There's a man named D.V. Lafei who is a real-estate tycoon in New York. He might just be this D.B. guy. What else did your friend at the station say about him?"  
Nolan stroked his chin as he casually walked around the computer desk and pushed Nathan away from her with his hip. "Well..." He placed his hands on her shoulders and guided her towards the door as he talked, "He might have heard something about the guy owning a home in town."  
"Where?" asked Nathan as he started after them. He was stopped by Alec who performed on the "eyes on you" signal and walked backwards after the other two.  
"Don't really know, but I'm sure if we can ask the local agent about any recent buys we might find the home."  
Nathan followed the small procession out to the waiting van where he was forced to take the front seat with Alec. When they arrived at the real estate office Alec made him go in with him, leaving Nolan alone in the car with Brianna. The office was run by one of their high school classmates, a girl who had obviously once had a crush on Alec as she gushed over him. She ignored Nathan completely as Alec weaseled the information about recent buys out of her.   
As they headed back to the van Alec stopped Nathan as he pressed him against the wall of the office. He glanced around at the van to make sure no one had seen then got into Nathan's face as he told him, "I know what you are trying to do."  
"I don't know what you mean."  
"Yes you do. Everyone in school knew you had a thing for Brianna." Nathan tried to protest but Alec shoved him back. "She was probably the only one who didn't realize and I know because she's back you think you have a chance with her--but you don't. I was her high school sweet heart and if she's going to end up with anyone it's going to be me."  
"What about Nolan? He was her boyfriend once too."  
Alec looked upset, as if he'd forgotten the fact. "Yeah well, he wasn't going to marry her."  
"Neither were you. She ran out on you, remember?"   
Nathan groaned as Alec punched him in the gut. "You think you're so smart, don't you Ranger. But don't forget that once this is over who the real hero will be, me."  
Alec let him slide to the ground before he let go of his collar and continued on his way to the van. Nathan caught his breath before standing. When he reached the parking lot the van was peeling away without him. Brianna looked confused as she stared out at him and looked like she was objecting to leaving him as she pointed back at him. Even with her apparent protests the car didn't stop.  
Nathan sighed as the van disappeared around a corner. "Maybe Nathan's right. She never noticed me before. Why would she now?" He turned away, scraping his shoes across the ground as he walked back in the direction of his home. On his way he passed the church, the very one Brianna had once almost been married in. The trees behind it had been almost completely cleared away over the years and from his position on the side walk he could see through the remaining trees to the area on the other side. More trees grew on the other side of the church's forest, these trees being ones planted by his father as part of their tree nursery. On the other side of those trees was his family's green house where they grew tree sprouts and bushes.  
"I was working that day," Nathan remembered as he thought back to the day of Brianna's death. "I would have been back at the greenhouse, right through those trees." As he said the words something stirred in his mind. After leaving the church Brianna would have more likely gone out into the side parking lot to get away to the main street of the town, not gone through the woods which only led back to the Ranger tree grove and greenhouse. "Unless..." his lips pressed together as he found himself unable to say the words. Could she have been coming to see me? Even just thinking it sounded ridiculous to him. "Why would she come see me?" Sure they had known of each other since they were babies, their families being close friends. But the two of them had never spent much time together at the two family's meetings. At school they hadn't ever walked in the same circles and it wasn't till high school that Brianna heard his name and asked if he was Nathanial Forest's son.  
"He's my dad," he had told her, his voice squeaking both from puberty and nervousness at having the head cheerleader talk to him.   
"I think I remember you," she replied, "We used to swim naked together in your dad's pool."  
The girls with her had snickered and told her, "How embarrassing."   
But Brianna had just smiled pleasantly as she told him, "We should catch up some time."  
Her friends had been stunned to silence and Nathan had only been able to manage a nod of his head. His friends had told him she was just playing with him after that when he'd told them about their encounter but the next day his friends were stunned as she joined them at their lunch table. After that Nathan had counted himself among Brianna's close friends as she'd invited him out to every get together her and her cheerleading friends attended.   
Her friends called him Brianna's puppy, to which she'd just smile and insist he wasn't her pet. "He's my friend." And even though her saying that made his heart flutter he didn't' believe it was true for a moment. She was the most popular girl in school, she could be friends with anyone she wanted. If she wanted to use someone as a lap dog to stroke her ego and do things for her there was a long line of boys and girls who would have done that very thing for her. But she'd chosen him and even though she never asked him to run errands for her he always did. If she mentioned craving chocolate he got her a bar form his secret stash just for those times. When she looked parched after practice he brought her an ice cold bottle of water. He was her dog and he wasn't ashamed of it--until the day of her wedding. Though she had invited him he realized he couldn't go. For him, she was more than a friend or owner, she was the love of his life and he couldn't watch her be married off to someone else.  
When Nolan had called him her lap dog all his feelings from that day had come rushing back. The anger at thinking that she'd just used him and that now that she had a husband she wouldn't need him anymore. She'd called him her Ranger--her protector--but after that day when he'd heard of her murder he'd realized he wasn't that at all. Brianna asked him who she was but he didn't even know who he was. He wasn't her protector, not even close, and if she didn't' think of him as a pet--a lap dog, what was left for him to be. He could stay her friend--and though he knew he could never be it, he longed to be more.   
Back at his home he left the lights off as he walked into his living room and flopped back on his couch. Unable to get any sleep the previous night, he soon fell asleep. When he woke the room was even darker as night had fallen. In front of him stood a white figure and for a moment he thought he was staring at an angel. As the figure moved closer he realized it was Brianna.   
Still thinking he was asleep he reached out towards her as he asked, "What are you doing here?"  
His hand touched her face and she pressed his hand against her cheek and smiled. "We just got back looking at the recently sold homes. I told the guys I wouldn't keep looking without you so they brought me back here." She gripped his hand as she started to pull him up. "Come on."  
Realizing he wasn't asleep anymore he rose and followed her out to the van where Alec and Nolan were sitting in the front of the car looking unhappy as Brianna and him crawled into the back.  
"Where are we going now?" asked Nathan as he closed the van's door.  
"To the graveyard," snapped Nolan.  
"Brianna wants us to get your car back for you," growled Alec.  
Nathan glanced at Brianna who was looking straight ahead. While the two men in front were occupied with an argument over what radio station to listen to he leaned over and whispered, "I passed by the church on my way home today." She didn't turn her head but moved her eyes to look at him. "They've cleared away almost all the woods behind it with the only trees left being the ones from my dad's nursery. You know, the one that has the greenhouse on the other side. Do you think on the day of the wedding you were coming through the woods to see me? I was working there that day and it doesn't make since for you to be in the woods when the only thing on the other side of it is the greenhouse."  
Brianna remained silent as the two men in the front finally settled on a radio station. The rest of the trip was silent as the van arrived at the graveyard. At Nathan's car they all got out.  
"I think I left a six pack in there," said Alec as he started towards the crypt.  
"Yeah and I forgot my--," Nolan glanced and Brianna then said, "Stuff."   
The two men hurried towards the Forest Mausoleum. Nathan stopped at his car as he looked for the key to the door. Brianna watched him as he shuffled through his keys. After he'd started through them for a second time he turned and looked at her. In the moonlight he found she really looked like a ghost floating in the middle of the graveyard with her glowing white dress.   
"That dress--it's so white."  
She looked down at the garment which made her let out a heavy sigh.   
"What's wrong?"  
"You must think that I don't deserve to war such a clean garment."  
He shook his head. "No. Why would you think that?"  
She walked around to the front of his car and sat on the bumper, "I heard girl's talking at the wedding about how I shouldn't be wearing white. They were upset because I'd broken up with Alec for awhile and said I'd slutted it up Nolan. I bet Alec even thinks I slept with him." She pulled her knees up to her chin. "And then Nolan always thought I'd slept with Alec. But I didn't sleep with either of them."  
Nathan walked around to the hood of the car and sat beside her. "So you're saying..."  
She nodded. "I'm still a virgin." Her shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. "I know I probably should have corrected them, told Alec I didn't sleep with Nolan and vice versa, but I knew boys liked to brag about their conquests and I didn't really care then about being counted among them."  
"I wouldn't have bragged," replied Nathan. "If you didn't want anyone to know whether we had or hadn't I would keep it quiet."  
Brianna smiled. "Your girlfriend was very lucky. I always liked that about boys--even if you just did one thing with them they'd make the story bigger and said you did more."  
Nathan nodded as they both stared up at the stars. "Actually, I'm a virgin too."  
She looked at him. "Really? Even though its five years later."  
He looked away, almost embarrassed as he said, "Yeah. I just never found anyone I wanted to be with in that way."  
"Have you even kissed a girl?"  
His cheeks must have glowed as he replied, "Yes. Once."  
"Who? Or do you not kiss and tell either?"  
He looked at her and for a moment they just stared at each other till he said, "It was you."  
"Me? I don't remember kissing you."  
"We were four. You had fallen when we were playing and were crying in that way you do without making a sound. I told you everything was going to be okay and cleaned her wound before kissing it better. You thanked me with a kiss."  
"On the lips?"  
He shook his head as he looked away. "On the cheek. But I still count it."  
"You shouldn't."  
He felt his heart drop as he nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry."  
Her hand touched his. "No I mean--."  
A flash of headlights cut of their conversation as they heard a car driving towards the graveyard.  
"Someone's here," noted Nathan. He looked at Brianna then took her hand and pulled her back towards the crypt, "They can't see you, we have to hide."  
Inside the crypt Alec and Nolan could be heard in the back laughing as they drank. Brianna's grave was still open. As the car outside came to a stop the sound of voices drew closer to their hiding place. Brianna leapt into the hole in the ground first, motioning for Nathan to follow. He looked back to the entrance of the marble enclosure. The sounds of people was just outside and it seemed as if they would come inside. He leapt into the hole on top of Brianna. Together they slid the lid over the top of the hole, hiding themselves just as the group of people entered.  
From inside the crypt they could only hear muffled voices. The voices seemed to grow agitated as their voices were joined by two drunkenly slurred voices. A deep tenor voice which Nathan believed could only belong to the sheriff said something to the two men then there was the sound of a scuffle.  
"Someone must have reported seeing Nolan and Alec coming here. They've been caught several times in the graveyard drinking," Nathan told Brianna, "Sheriff said the next time he caught them he'd take them and anyone with them into jail."  
The sounds of the skirmish died away as the group left the mausoleum. Though he listened for the sound of the Sheriff's car he wasn't able to hear it.   
"We should stay here awhile, don't' want them to catch you."  
Beside him Brianna didn't say anything as she adjusted her position so they were both lying on their sides facing each other. After a few minutes had passed Brianna let out a heavy sigh.  
"What's wrong?"  
"I knew you liked me."  
"What do you mean? Of course I liked you, you were my best friend."  
There was no sound but he imagined she was shaking her head. "I mean like-like. I thought if I never addressed it you'd move on from me. I didn't want to embarrass you by calling you out on it or rejecting you. I figured if you thought I didn't know you could move on from me in secret and afterwards we could still be friends." She let out another heavy sigh. "But when I think about it you were the only guy who I ever cared that much about to not want to hurt. Even when I left Alec and started dating Nolan I didn't think about his feelings as much as I did with you." Nathan shivered as her cold hand touched his arm. "If you were upset by me saying I didn't return your feelings and left I didn't know what I'd do. You were my best friend."  
"I thought Stacey Oricco was your best friend."  
"No. You were. And as I wanted to say before we were interrupted..." He felt her hand slide up his arm, past his shoulder and along his collar bone. He shivered again as it touched his cheek then traveled across to his lips. Her finger stayed at the edge of his mouth and he started to wonder the reason for it till he felt something press against them. For a moment he didn't know what it was but as it stopped he realized it had been her lips. "There, now you've had your first kiss."  
His throat felt tight as he choked out her name, "Brian." The space in the grave box seemed smaller as Brianna pressed her body against his and kissed him again on the lips. Unlike her hands her lips were warm and felt as soft as rose petals as they pressed against his mouth. As she continued to kiss him her body pressed more and more into his till he thought if they were any closer they'd be one body--one entity--their spirits entwined like one cosmic being.  
When her mouth moved away from his he pushed her away as he said her name again, "Brian, what are you doing?"  
"Oh Nathan, I'm so sorry it took me so long to realize it--that I had to die to see it."  
"See what?"  
"Who I really am. I'm Brianna Forest, known to her best friend as Brian in private, and I'm in love with my best friend."  
"Stacie Oricco?"  
She laughed as she pushed his shoulder so that it slid down the side o the marble wall and he was left lying on his back. "No, dork, you." With his back against the bottom of the crypt he felt Brianna's legs straddle his sides as she bent forward to kiss him again. Though it was dark as night inside the crypt he found he could almost see her, the white of her dress almost glowing as he wrapped his arms around it.   
"Brianna you are just experiencing dyer's remorse. If you return to the after life after this you don't won't to go without having experienced everything--and thought I would enjoy being your first--I don't want you to do anything you might regret in the next life."  
He felt her finger press across his lips as she told him, "Shut up. We've both waited too long for this." She kissed his lips then whispered, "And don't call me Brianna again, we're alone."  
Nathan felt his adam's apple rise and fall as he swallowed. His voice was just barely above a whisper as the faint light of her dress traveled up her body as she pulled it over her head. "I don't know if I feel comfortable saying a man's name in this situation."  
She laughed lightly and he imagined tinkling bells. "Would it make you feel better if I called you Stacie?"  
"No."  
"Fine, then call me whatever you like. As long as it is you I don't care."  
As the white of the dress slid to the side of the darkness he smiled as he finally knew what to call her, "Then I'll call you my Forest and you can call me your Ranger."  
In the darkness he could almost see her smile as she leaned down towards him. "Perfect."

When the two were sure they were alone, not really sure how much time had passed, Nathan pushed aside the grave's lid. Too embarrassed to look with the dim light of the crypt he kept his back to Brianna as she redressed. She didn't seem to have any qualms as she pushed her foot against his bear back as he dressed, "Nice birthmark." He hurriedly covered the spot with his shirt. "Aw. It was cute."  
She laughed again and he turned to face her just as she'd finished pulling the silken white dress down over herself. The space between them lessened as he leaned across it and lightly kissed her on the lips. She smiled as he pulled away and finished getting dressed.  
While he did she stared up at the cieling. "So why is it you haven't had a girlfriend this whole time? Alec and Nolan told me all about their girlfriends." He looked at her. "I know right, why would you tell your dead girlfriend about all the girls you banged since knowing her."  
Nathan turned back as he finished buckling his pants. "I don't know. I had friends try to set me up with girls but none of them were you. I tried not to compare them but in the end they just weren't the kind of girl I wanted. When I realized I wouldn't find anyone like you I tried to bury myself in my work hoping to distract myself from thoughts of you." He turned to face her and helped her out of the crypt as he said, "But no matter how hard I tried I never could. My heart just wouldn't forget you."  
She smiled as she stepped up to him, placing her hands on his chest as she raised herself up to kiss him on the lips. "I'm glad."  
He smiled back. "Me too."  
Outside Nathan's car was still waiting. After finding the right key, finally, he unlocked it and got into the driver's seat as Brianna slid into the passenger seat.  
"Should we go bail the boy's out of jail?" asked Nathan as he started up his car.  
Brianna snuggled against him as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I think they can wait till morning." She hid a yawn behind her hand as she said, "I need some sleep and those two will keep me up with their nonsense."  
He smiled as he put the car in drive and drove away from the graveyard. Beside him Brianna laughed as she wrapped her arms around his arm and moved in closer till her curled up knees were rest against his leg. A few minutes later he heard her breath slow as she fell asleep. He put his arm around her and pulled her closer as he drove down the road to his home. For that night it would just be the two of them, the Forest and her Ranger.

The next morning Alec and Nolan both looked annoyed when Nathan and Brianna walked into the police station to pick them up.  
"Where were you?" snapped Alec as he collected his things.  
"Yeah," quipped Nolan as he leaned in to whisper, "You were there with us, where were you hiding so you didn't get caught?"  
"Did you guys not realize we were arrested?" asked Alec.  
"Yes," replied Brianna, latching onto the lie for their absence, "We didn't realize what had happened to you till this morning."  
"And what were you to up to between now and last night?" asked Nolan as he looked directly at Nathan. The young man felt his whole body blush as he remembered what they had done.  
Brianna saved him as she directed Nolan's attention away from Nathan with a hand on the bad boy's arm, "We were doing more research on D.V. Lafei. Since we weren't able to find his home yesterday when we looked I started to think--what if he doesn't own a home here. What if he purchased something else to occupy?"  
"Like what?" asked Alec as they left the station.  
"Like an old business building," explained Brianna. "The Elm Trust building has been abandoned for years but it seems recently someone has been paying the electric bill."  
"And how did you find this out?" asked Nolan.  
The group squeezed into Nathan's small two door car, the two men grumbling as they had to squeeze into the back.   
"I logged into my dad's account online," explained Brianna, "he keeps records of all his jobs and one of them was a rewiring of the Elm Trust. Why would he do that unless someone was using it?"  
"So that's where we're heading," concluded Nathan as he started the car.  
The Elm Trust building was located in and older part of Little Grove which had seen better days. Most of the buildings were broken down and only a few of them were still occupied. Of all the buildings Elm Trust was the tallest having once contained several businesses ranging from law firms to dermatologist offices.  
"It looks the same," noted Brianna as they pulled up in front of the old brick building.  
As always they had Brianna stay in the car as Nathan, Alec, and Nolan went inside. Though the front door was chained shut they found a service entrance at the back that was open with a seemingly new door. On the inside the building was dark with scattered debris covering the floor as giant dust particles floated through the air.   
Nathan coughed as he almost swallowed one such dust particle, "Maybe I should wait outside with Brianna. This dust is going to do horrors for my allergies."  
Nolan grabbed his arm as he started to leave, "Oh no you don't, we know you just want to be alone with Bria."  
Alec sneered as he nodded, "Just because she's back don't think you've got a chance of getting with her this time. Like we've said before, if she's going to get with anyone it's going to be--," he paused as Nolan cast him a look, "one of us."  
Nolan nodded as he pushed Nathan towards the stairs of the building, "Now let's go."  
Part of Nathan wanted to tell them they were wrong--brag about what he'd done with Brianna--something neither of them had ever done. But another part of him wanted to keep it to himself--save the special night for him and her alone--that part winning as he started up the stairs in silence. The steps loudly creaked with each step, "So much for sneaking up on him," and with each level the building continued to look just as rundown and abandoned as the first floor. By the sixth floor Alec was complaining about muscle cramps while Nolan wondered aloud if anyone was even there.  
Just as the older men were getting ready to suggest heading back they spotted a light coming from the top floor. Their steps quickened as they reached the upper level. It looked just as dusty and debris filled as the first floor but as they continued down the hall the debris and dust started to fade away into a clean and refurbished hallway. At the end of the hall stood a door which gleamed like golden wood from under which shone a light.  
"This is it," whispered Nathan as his heart fluttered within his chest. Whoever was behind that door had a good chance of being D.V. Lafei, the man who held the key to the reason behind the strangeness of Brianna's passing and who possibly knew who had done it.  
The handle of the door felt hot compared to the chilliness which had filled the air up to that point. Nathan gripped the knob tightly to keep his hand from shaking as he turned it then pushed. The door opened with an ease reflecting the newness of the hinges on which it moved. Inside the room the dust and debris in the rest of the building seemed like a distant memory. Each surface in the room glistened with a cleanliness that went beyond anything any of them had ever seen before. Directly from the door at the opposite wall stood an imposing desk which gleamed with the same golden wood of the door. On either side of the desk stood two black wooden bookshelves filled with all kinds of books, most with labels written in a script Nathan had never seen before. Paintings line the walls, all of which depicted dark or disturbing images. Back at the desk a red leather chair sat vacant. When they searched the room they found it just as empty.  
"He's not here," said Nolan after searching each bookshelf for a secret passage, "If this is even D.V. Lafei's office."  
"It is," declared Alec as he held up a page from the desk. On the top was letterhead holding the name of the mystery man along with a symbol that looked to Nathan like either a trident or a pitchfork.   
"Should we wait for him to return?" asked Nolan. "He left the lights on so maybe he'll be back soon."  
Nathan started to respond but was cut off as his phone rang. The called ID showed his father's number, he sighed as he signaled for the men to wait then answered, "Hey dad I'm kind of busy--what, but I---" he sighed, "Alright, I'll be right there." He hung up then turned to look at the men with an apologetic look as he told them, "My dad needs me at the nursery, something about root rot. I have to go."  
Nolan snorted as he folded his arms, "Showing off with that big job of yours again. Guess it's not so great now that you to choose it over Bria."  
"Do you guys want a ride back or do you want to wait here?"  
Nolan looked like he was going to agree to the last when Alec elbowed him and pointed to one of the painting which showed an artist's rendering of Dante's inferno. The ex-football player looked pale as he motioned towards the door with his head. Nolan took his hint as he said, "We'll take Bria out to eat since none of us have had anything to eat since last night."  
Nathan didn't inform them he and Brianna had already eaten before picking them up from jail, having enjoyed a large plate of powder sugar covered French toast with fresh strawberries. At the car he informed Brianna of his situation, after she had gotten out of the car he drove away, watching in the rearview as both Nolan and Alec wrapped their arms around the young woman. "This better be good dad."  
At the Ranger family nursery Nathan found his father waiting outside the greenhouse, his arms folded in front of him with a tight frown on his face.   
"Where have you been?" snapped the man impatiently as Nathan opened his car door. "I've been calling you since yesterday.  
"Sorry dad, I've been a little busy."  
The man harumphed impatiently as he motioned with his head for Nathan to follow him inside the green house. "All those trees we planted last spring have all got root rot. I don't know what happened but I want you to check all the trees we planted after to make sure the same thing isn't happening with them."  
Nathan groaned internally as he knew the task would take all day, "How do we know it wasn't just a bad batch of seeds or something."  
"May well be, check the purchase records, but I still want you to check the trees. That's over a hundred trees as it is now. If we lose anymore we won't be able to fill our quota of sales this year."  
His father left him to his work which Nathan started with a heavy groan. Before checking the trees, he headed to the small office at the back of the green house in which they stored important documents such as purchase orders. Starting from the winter before last spring Nathan started to check each purchase order along with the receipts for the seeds they had purchased. In one of the purchase orders for a shipment of seeds he found a document that had been misfiled, "Probably by Steven," he started to re-file the document when the letterhead at the top caught his eye. The image of a trident or a pitchfork flashed a memory through his mind. Though the letterhead did not contain the name of D.V. Lafei it did have the name Darius V. Laufeia. "The man Brianna's parents mentioned."  
As he stared at the document his mind began to race with questions. Why did his father have a document with this man's letterhead? He had always found it a little strange that a tree company like his father's was able to do so well, giving them enough revenue to own a large home in Little Grove along with a ski lodge in Aspen. What was Darius' connection to his father and did it have something to do with their nursery's success?  
As Nathan started searching through other folders he found more documents containing the symbol of name of Darius. "How far back does this go?" After a time he opted to start at the beginning and work his way forward. Viewing the purchase orders of his father's company at the beginning he found that the nursery hadn't always been doing so well. For the first two years it had been close to going under. Just when his father was getting ready to claim bankruptcy he had received a check from Darius Laufeia, after that the business had never seen a dark day. No trees had died, no orders were returned, and they'd even started to provide trees out of state.  
"Something's rotten in Denmark," decided Nathan as he set aside the condemning evidence for their search. He was just about to leave when his father stopped him at the exit of the greenhouse.   
"What have you go there?" asked his father as he noticed the papers in his arms.  
"Nothing," lied Nathan as he tried to continued past his father. He didn't succeed as his father moved so as to bump into him. The papers fell from his arms and as his dad helped him collect the papers he picked up one of the pages with Darius' logo.  
"What are you doing Nathan?" asked his father as they stood.  
"I was checking the seed purchases when I found this page," Nathan held up the first document, "I didn't recognize the logo and so I started searching our orders to see if I could find where it belonged. That's when I found more documents with this logo and the name Darius Laufeia. Who is this guy, dad?"  
For a moment his dad looked reluctant to talk, after a moment he let out a heavy sigh as he stroked his beard. "I guess it is time. I've already basically handed over the business to you, it's time I let you in on all its secrets."  
Nathan felt his heart quiver much as it had the first time he'd seen the door to Lafei's office, "What secrets?"  
"We're having a meeting tonight, you'll come with me."  
Nathan tried to get his dad to tell him more but all he would say was, "You'll understand when we get there."  
After that he wouldn't say more and insisted Nathan get back to work on checking the tree roots. When his dad had left him to his work Nathan called up Nolan and told him of what he'd learned, "I don't know what my dad's connection to Laufeia is but I think this meeting tonight could get us closer to this guy."  
"Call us when you know where it is and we'll head over."  
Nathan agreed then hung up. For the rest of the time he checked tree roots. Yay.

The sky was all but dark by the time Nathan's father came to take him to the meeting. He expected for his father to lead him to the car but was surprised when his dad led him back into the woods behind their greenhouse.  
"Where are we going?" asked Nathan as he ducked beneath a low hanging branch.   
His father didn't reply, remaining mysteriously silent as he led him deeper into their grove of trees back where the larger trees grew. Nathan realized they were nearing the trees behind the church when his father came to a stop. He tried to ask his father again what was going on but the man remained silent as he seemed to wait for something. Two minutes later there was the sound of a twig snapping and then from the trees in front of them came four shadowed figures. It wasn't until one of them called out his father that Nathan realized who two of the people were. Then when one of them pulled out his phone to check his phone Nathan saw who the rest of the group was. Along with his father both of Brianna's parents were there along with the Sheriff and the town's mayor.  
"What is he doing here?" asked the sheriff as he pointed to Nathan.  
"I'm turning over my duties at the nursery to him," explained his father, "and I thought it was about time I gave him this as well."  
"You sure that's a good idea?" asked Mr. Forest as he warily looked around. He looked as pale as he had that night that Brianna had appeared in his home. It seemed both her parents were still feeling the effects of having their dead daughter accuse them.  
Nathan's father shrugged in response as he said, "We'll let Darius decide."  
"Who is Darius?" asked Nathan as he looked around for the man. "Is he coming?"  
As his father answered him with a "No," Nathan tried to text Nolan his location without removing his phone from his pocket. Just as he was about to give up and take his phone out there was another snap of a twig as a man dressed in a dark red suit stepped into the small clearing. As soon as he did a circle of fire formed around the group, lighting their faces so that they glowed with a eerie light.  
"What is going on?!" cried Nathan in panic as he moved towards the center of the circle away from the fire.  
"Who's this?" asked the new man with a voice that seemed to crackle much like the fire.  
"This is my son," answered Mr. Ranger. "I'm letting him take over my role here."  
"I see," replied the man with a chilling smile. He extended his hand to Nathan who was still looking at the fire with worry, "It's wonderful to finally meet you Nathan Ranger. My name is Darius Laufeia."  
At the mention of the name Nathan turned to fully look at the man. He was short with oily black hair which was slicked back. Two pieces of hair as his temples defied the gel as they curled up like horns away from the rest of the hair. The man's canines seemed longer than normal as he smiled at Nathan which teeth that shone like pearls. In the light of the fire his smile took on an almost sinister look as he stared at the boy, waiting for him to take his hand.  
Nathan finally did, finding the man's hand felt warm, almost hot like a heated iron. "Who are you exactly?"  
The man laughed, the sounding reminded Nathan a roaring bonfire, "Right to the point, I like it." His smile grew as he motioned to each of those in the circle, "I am the benefactor of these fine people."  
"What does that mean exactly?"  
"It means that I provide them with things like customers, opportunities, and when needed, money."  
"And what's in it for you?"  
"Why, the pleasure helping them of course." He laughed, as if he had told the most hilarious joke ever, those in the circle joining in his laughter--theirs sounding strained. "No, seriously, I do it for what they promised me."  
"Which is what?"  
"Fame, fortune, power, everything the world has to offer for one simple, small thing. Something I'll be needing from you if we are going to continue the deal your father and I had."  
"And what is that?"  
"Your soul."  
Nathan started to laugh but stopped when he saw the grave expressions on the faces of those around him. "My soul?"  
The small man nodded as he seriously replied, "Just an itsy-bitsy little thing for everything you could ever dream of. And since it is a new deal, I can throw in a few extra things your father didn't request."  
Nathan felt himself panic for a moment--what was this man talking about--taking his soul? Was he actually serious or had everyone here lost their mind?  
The man continued as he said, "Things like the ability to make any woman you want fall in love with you." He glanced at Nathan's dad, "Or any man, whichever way your boat turns."  
His mouth felt dry as if he'd been sucking on cotton balls. Why couldn't the trade of his soul be possible? Brianna--who had been dead for five years--had come back after all. How was this any less ridiculous?  
"What about bringing someone back from the dead?" asked Nathan.  
The man's grin grew. "That's very possible to arrange. Who do you have in mind?"  
Nathan's eyes glanced in the direction of the Forest's for a moment before looking back at the man, "Brianna Forest."  
He heard the couple gasp as the sinister man frowned, "Brianna Forest," he glanced at the couple as if accusing them of putting Nathan up to this, "A very pretty girl, but unfortunately I can't bring her back."  
"Why not?" asked Nathan, suspecting he knew the reason.  
"She was killed under very...extraneous circumstances. I can't bring her back."  
Nathan felt angry and felt himself insist on the matter, though he didn't know why, "If I am going to give you my soul I'm not going to trade it for just anything. The tree business isn't as important to me as my father. If I am going to continue running it and exchange for my eternal life I want something I could never get under normal circumstances. I want Brianna."  
Darius Laufeia's smile was completely gone now, replaced with an annoyed expression. The flames around them seemed to flare as he impatiently told Nathan, "I can't."  
"Why not?"  
"Because she's dead."  
"If you can take a soul you should be able to bring one back."  
"The way in which she died prevents me from bringing her back.  
"And how is a murder preventing you from bringing her back?"  
The man's demonic look intensified as he seemed to grow taller, "I told you I can't. Choose something else."  
Nathan was belligerent as he replied, "No."  
His dad tried to dissuade him as he said, "Nathan, do as he says, you can have anyone--choose someone else."  
Nathan pulled away from his dad's touch as he shook his head, "No. If you can't bring her back then how do I know you can do anything you say? This all seems like a sham to me. A bag of tricks. You might have tricked my dad and these other guys but I won't fall for your cheep parlor tricks."  
Laufeia had had enough with that as the fire shot up around him, "Parlor tricks, I'll show you parlor tricks!" He extended his hand as fire shot out of his fingertips. Nathan's father cried out as the flames shot right at his son. As they reached the boy Darius' grin faded when they traveled around him as if hitting against a barrier. "What is this?"  
The man shimmered for a moment then reappeared in front of Nathan. He winced as he touched the boy, pulling away his hand as it began to smoke and sizzle. Darius hissed in displeasure, "Who are you boy?"  
"I could ask the same thing of you," snapped Nathan.   
"Who am I?" asked Darius with apparent offense as if he were the pope and Nathan had asked the same question. "I am Darius Laufeia, greatest soul trader of all time."  
"And who exactly is Darius Laufeia? Is he as great as D.V. Lafei or Devon Lestringe."  
The demonic man grinned as he began to laugh, "Ranger, you never told me your son was so smart." The man moved within a breath from Nathan's face, making sure not to touch him again. His voice hissed like a fire in water as he asked, "How do you know those names?"  
"I've done my research."  
"And why would you be doing that on little old me?"  
"I heard you had something to do with a friends death."  
"And what friend is that?"  
"Brianna Forest."  
The man hissed as if burned as he jumped back from Nathan, "Brianna Forest," he looked towards the girl's parents who winced, "Why do you keep mentioning that name? I told you I can't bring her back."  
"And why is that? What happened to her--how did she really die?"  
Darius turned on the Forests as he snarled, "I told you to take care of this. I told you to make sure no one ever questioned her death."  
"We did," replied Mr. Forest, "We had her body cremated like you asked so no one could exhume it. And we had Roger blame her death on a wanderer."  
"We told him he should arrest some hobo for the murder but he wouldn't," added Mrs. Forest.  
Darius turned on the sheriff as he asked, "And why is it that people are questioning her death now?"  
The sheriff looked sick as he replied in a shaky voice, "I did all I could to cover it up. If I had arrested someone the case would have been looked into more. And then they might have found out about us."  
"And why would they find out about us when I have the town's sheriff and mayor on payroll?"  
"What happened?" asked Nathan, interrupting Laufeia's interrogation. "Why did Brianna's death need covered up?"  
Darius snarled as he disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared in front of Nathan. "Because she stumbled on our little ritual in the woods. She wasn't meant to be there and her presence caused the flames to go wild and attack her." Darius didn't sound guilty in the slightest as he said, "Before I could stop them they had completely burned her up. How were her poor parents to explain what had happened without giving away their demonic habits? I told them it would be best to just cremate her and blame the death on a psychopath." He snarled at the couple again who winced, "But it seems they couldn't even do that right." He turned again to Nathan who felt like a sacrificial lamb under the man's gaze, "If you are questioning her death that probably means others out there are looking into it. I can't let my little operation be found out about so I guess I'm just going to have to cut my losses and leave early."  
"What about our deals?" asked the town's mayor. "I have an election coming up."  
Darius sneered as he coldly replied, "No you don't." He snapped his fingers and the mayor's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he dropped to his knees.  
Mrs. Forest screamed as the sheriff tried to run but was cut off by the flames of the circle. "Ah ah," said Darius as he wagged his finger then snapped it, making the sheriff drop to his knees.  
"You can't take our souls now," snapped Mr. Forest.  
"Oh yes I can, you promised them to me on your deaths. And ladies and gentlemen, the grim reaper is calling." The demon snapped both his fingers sending both Forest's dropping to their knees. He turned to Nathan who felt his heart clench in his chest. The man's gaze continued past the boy towards his father.  
"No!"  
Nathan watched as if trapped in a slow motion scene as the demon raised his fingers towards his father. His fingers were just about to complete their motion when a bright flashed in the forest and a wind blew away the flames. Nathan was blinded for a moment but when he could see again he found that a new person had come onto the scene. The person was a woman with golden hair and crystal blue eyes. Her skin shone as if lit by an internal light.  
Darius looked irked by her appearance as he snapped, "What are you doing here?"  
"It's time for you to go," replied the woman with a voice like wind.  
"Not till I take what's mine," replied Darius as he motioned to the two Ranger men.  
The golden haired woman shook her head as she said, "Nathan is not yours--he never traded you his soul."  
"He promised he would if I could bring his girl back." Darius turned to Nathan as he said, "If I bring Brianna back you give me your soul."  
Nathan shook his head, "Sorry, I don't need to give you my soul. I already got her back for free."  
"You what?" The demon snarled as he turned on the woman, "This is your doing, isn't it? I won't let this stand!"  
The woman raised her hand, making the demon hiss, "You will. Now go."  
Nathan cried out in protest as Darius turned to take his father's soul again. The older man motioned for his son to let it be as he said, "I've reaped where I shouldn't have sewn, it's time I reap my rewards. I've always felt bad about the Forest girl--I deserve this."  
Nathan felt his protest cut off as the demon snapped his finger, sending his father dropping to his knees in death. After that the man disappeared in a flash of flames.   
The woman turned to Nathan, her eyes looking sympathetic as she told him, "I'm sorry about your father, but he chose his path, there was nothing I could do."  
"Now that Darius' is gone are you going to take Brianna back?"  
The angel shook her head as she answered, "No. She was taken before her time--it's time she got to live her life."  
Before she could leave he motioned to the soulless shells, "What about them?"  
The angel swept her hand across the ground, making the scorch marks and bodies disappear. "I've returned them to their homes. They will be found in their beds--their death's explained as heart attacks."  
Nathan felt his heart lift as the angel disappeared. Though still heavy from the loss of his father he felt a small light inside his chest growing at the thought of seeing Brianna again.   
The church woods were still just behind him and he ran through them now, coming out behind the church a few minutes later. From there he ran to the theatre where he hoped to find Alec's van. His feet quickened at the sight of the white van in the back parking lot. The two men looked surprised as he threw open the door to the van. "Where is Brianna?"  
"Don't know," snapped Alec. "She left after we got your text message."  
"What does "atyhegirst" mean anyway?" asked Nolan as he held up his phone.  
Nathan quickly told them about the demon and what had happened to Brianna five years ago. They looked skeptical even after Nathan reminded them their ex-girlfriend had come back to life less than three days ago.   
"Whatever man, ghosts I believe, demons--not."  
Realizing they'd never listen, he ran off, "Where could she be?"  
The graveyard was too far for her to talk on her own. Most of the places they had frequented when younger had closed down. With no where else to go he decided to check the only other place he thought he might be.  
His house was a mile from the church and by the time he reached his street his lungs were burning. From down the street he saw his home, the windows dark. On the front step a white figure sat on the stoop. As he drew closer her recognized the figure and quickened his pace.  
Brianna looked worried as she rose to her feet, "Are you okay? We got your text but we couldn't figure it out."  
"Sorry, I was in the woods between the church and the greenhouse."  
She looked relieved as she hugged him. "I'm glad your okay." She pulled away as she asked, "But what happened? Did you meet Lafei?"  
Nathan had her come inside with him then explained while they sat on the couch. Brianna was quiet when he finished his story and he started to think she wouldn't believe him. Finally she let out a small sigh as she admitted, "I remember it."  
"Remember?"  
"My death. I was going to see you when I came upon your dad, the sheriff, and our mayor standing in a circle of flames chanting in some weird language I'd never heard before. As I stepped into the clearing the flames suddenly leapt at me and the next thing I remember is waking up in my tomb." Nathan wrapped his arms around her as she began to shiver. "I can't believe my parents sold their souls to a demon and then helped him cover up my death."  
"I'm sorry. I should have done something to save them."  
She shook her head. "No, your dad was right, they chose their path. I'm just sorry you have to lose your dad as well."  
Nathan nodded. "I'm just glad I didn't lose my soul as well."  
She pulled away from him as she looked into his eyes. "Would you have done it--if I hadn't already been raised by the angel--would you have traded your soul for my life?"  
Nathan paused as if to consider the question, though he already knew the answer, "Yes. If I could even see you for just one day I would have traded my soul. Anything, to have one last chance to tell you how I feel."  
She touched his cheek, her hand cold against his skin, "I'm here now and you don't have to trade your soul. So tell me how you feel."  
Nathan wrapped his arms around her as he gazed into her eyes, "Brianna Forest I love you. I've cared for you since that first moment I found you swimming in my kiddie pool and I've loved you since the time you remembered me when we were in high school."  
She smiled as her eyes twinkled with tears. "And I've cared for you since that time you comforted me when I fell and though I probably did before I didn't realized I loved you till I saw you standing over my grave."  
Her lips lightly caressed his, the warmth from them filling him as he let her push him back against the couch.  
"Forest, will you marry me?"  
Her voice was a whisper as she replied with a smile, "Yes."


End file.
